


a softer ask box

by jacksgreysays (jacksgreyson)



Series: Tumblr Ask Box Events [3]
Category: Dreaming of Sunshine - Silver Queen, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Atlantis: The Lost Empire Fusion, Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Final Fantasy VII Fusion, Alternate Universe - Leverage Fusion, Alternate Universe - Steven Universe Fusion, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Alternate Universe - Wings, F/F, F/M, Gen, Inspired by Fanfiction, Time Loop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-23 16:53:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 8,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11406585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacksgreyson/pseuds/jacksgreysays
Summary: (originally posted on tumblr)





	1. 621 + DoS + platonic Team Seven (oliviaphoenix)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these are based on AU brainstorms which I haven't/probably won't upload on ao3:
> 
> Tamed is a Fairy Tale!AU
> 
> Strong In The Real Way is a Steven Universe fusion (pun not intended)
> 
> Remember To Sleep is a cyberpunk!AU
> 
> Call On Your Angels is a Atlantis: The Lost Empire fusion
> 
> Insuperable is a DCU-esque Superhero!AU

_[I love the way your face lights up](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=621) _   
_[ when someone says,](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=621) _   
_[ “It might be dangerous.”](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=621) _   
_[ (I am glad we are friends.)](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=621) _

—

**_(Tamed)_ **

Sasuke smirks, Naruto laughs, and Shikako tries to suppress an unprofessional giggle–it’s not their clients’ fault that they’ve hired a team of adrenaline junkies.

“We’ll be fine,” she assures them, perfectly polite smile on her face, before the three of them set off.

Supposedly there’s a monster in the forest preying on the citizens of the town, a behemoth with claws and teeth and no real solid description: it’s just as well, they’ve been kind of bored lately.

/

**_(Strong In The Real Way)_ **

“You’re a researcher, not a fighter,” Sasuke says, trying to discourage her, trying to protect her.

“I’m a scientist,” she corrects, “danger isn’t unfamiliar to me.” She steps forward to complete the line–her and Sasuke and Naruto, ready to take on whatever force Home World may be sending, “We’ll both stand with you, Naruto”

Naruto looks over at the two of them–surprised and more than a little touched, eyes suspiciously shiny–and grins.

/

**_(Remember To Sleep)_ **

The old Uzushio stomping grounds are a nightmare ghost town–teeming with erratic Uzumaki tech and an unstoppable electromagnetic field–but it might hold a clue about Naruto’s past and that’s all the reason Shikako needs to make the trip.

“What are you doing here, bastard?” Naruto shouts, more surprised than actually angry–it’s just as well they’re not aiming for stealth right now.

“As if I’ll let the two of you go without me,” Sasuke scoffs, “Who knows what kind of trouble you’d get into.”

/

**_(Call On Your Angels)_ **

“You said that about the last one, too, but the worst that happened was that thunderstorm knocking over a tree and almost flattening Sasuke,” Naruto responds when Shikako brings up her newest expedition.

Sasuke glares at him, “Yeah. How boring,” he says, deadpan, but he starts packing up his stuff alongside Naruto–she’s honestly a little surprised. “Even if it is just looking at rocks all day, of course we’re coming with you.”

Unfortunately–or maybe fortunately–it is not just looking at rocks.

/

**_(Insuperable)_ **

“This is my city, all the people I love live here,” she says, gearing up, “I may not have powers like either of you, but I’m going to do what I can to defend my home.”

Shikako is human walking alongside an alien and a demigod, ready to take on an ancient horror.

She can’t fly–urban myths aside–but they hold out their hands to her and she soars.


	2. 1033 for Ino (anonymous)

_[Ah, unrequited love.](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1033) _   
_[ …](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1033) _   
_[ When your best isn’t enough.](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1033) _   
_[ (Participation medals of the heart)](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1033) _

—

Ino falls in love, easy as breathing.

Falling out of love is a lot harder.

If she were less self-aware, she’d blame it on her clan’s bloodline: there is a certain amount of empathy needed to do their family jutsu, a keen sense of observation, and a fluidity of self.

Yet, conversely, knowing oneself–maintaining and cultivating what makes her Ino instead of whatever body she may inhabit–is vital. It’s why she knows, for a fact, that her propensity to fall in love has nothing to do with her bloodline, and everything to do with her own heart.

///

Ino is an only child without any cousins close to her in age and an awful lot to learn even before she gets to the Academy.

People tend to forget that, or never even consider it, that maybe her sociability isn’t an expression of a natural friendliness. It’s a skill, honed and polished like any other, and one that serves her well.

Which is not to say that she’s faking it all the time, but there’s a reason why even though she’s popular she only really has a few close friends.

On her first day of kunoichi classes, Ino meets Shikako and Sakura.

She never stops loving them.

///

Ino thinks she knows true love when she is eight. Sasuke is handsome and so cool, like a tragic hero from the stories just waiting for the healing touch of the right woman (Mum doesn’t even bother trying to hide her romance novels anymore).

But she is her father’s daughter–the future seventeenth leader of her clan who will carry on the Yamanaka name and bloodline–nothing can come of it.

Still, a girl can dream can’t she?

And even though later, years from now, she’ll know definitively that it can never be. Well, she’ll still love him, in a different way, and maybe one day he’ll love her back, too.

///

They are Ino-Shika-Cho.

It’s not something they’re born into, not really, not mandated by their blood nor written in their bones. It’s something they choose, something they work towards, a gathering of compatible hearts that beat as one and say, yes, this is where we will build our home.

How could Ino not fall in love?

But they’re not each others’ everything. They live their own lives and love their own loves.

(She will watch the next generation with pride and a bit of wistfulness: what if?)

///

Ino falls in love, easy as breathing, and never stops.


	3. 913, Friendship Is A (Mutual) Con 'verse, (anonymous)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> set in my [Friendship Is A (Mutual) Con 'verse](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6945079/chapters/19668433)

_[All aboard the friend ship!](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=913) _  
_[ Today we’re carrying munitions](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=913) _  
_[ and no running lights.](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=913) _  
_[ (I’ll be the Imo this time. You can be the Mont-Blanc.)](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=913) _

—

It was only ever supposed to be temporary.

(There are sirens and screaming. The roaring of the flames. Dust and smoke in the air.)

Sakura knew this coming in: it was just a favor for a friend, a learning experience.

(Beneath her hands, a man screams, blood gushing out around the piece of rebar through his shoulder.)

And she has learned a lot, advanced her own skills not only in healing and fighting, but in grifting and hacking and stealing. She’s had fun and she cares for her teammates. She doesn’t regret any of it.

(She stabilizes him as best as she can–it’s not fatal, not with ambulances on the way, he’ll be brought to a hospital soon and they can do more for him there–and moves on to the next person.)

But it was only meant to be temporary.

(When she’s done with triage, she leaves with one of the ambulances, holding the hand of a woman who might lose her leg tonight.

The explosion was far too big–nothing at all like the controlled blast that was part of the plan–and no one is answering on the comms.

She follows protocol and gets out.)

—

The explosion knocks both of them off their feet. Sai drops his gun.

Yamato doesn’t.

“Don’t,” he warns, simply, barrel aimed perfectly even if he is awkwardly crouched against the wall and his head is aching from the collision.

Sai raises his hands, moves away from where his gun lies by his feet slow and calm and as expressionless as ever.

“Was it you?” Yamato asks, uncaring of the encroaching fire and the heat and the ringing in his ears. “Interpol showed up before the alarms went off. There’s no way they could have come here so fast unless they were warned ahead of time.”

He would know. He used to be one.

Sai doesn’t deny it, Yamato cocks his gun. They’ll probably both burn to death if they don’t leave now, but Yamato isn’t willing to leave that up to chance.

“Kakashi-taicho told me to.”

—

“Teammates don’t keep secrets from each other,” Sasuke grits out, praying to any god that’s listening that the ropes don’t snap. His arms are killing him, and he can see from the look on Naruto’s face that the harness is becoming painful.

The rig is only designed for one person’s weight–maybe two, tops, but definitely not three.

Shikako doesn’t answer.

“I’ll drop you,” Sasuke threatens, but doesn’t mean it. If it were a shorter fall, maybe, but at this height–this many stories up–it would kill her.

“I was trying to keep you safe,” she says, finally, and while she doesn’t really think Sasuke will drop her, she coils the rope in her free hand just in case.

Sasuke dismisses it immediately, “What, by keeping us in the dark?”

“Well… I mean. That is kind of my thing.”

Naruto snorts. Or maybe that’s a grunt of pain.

“This isn’t the time for jokes,” Sasuke scolds.

“This isn’t the time for arguing either,” Naruto wheezes out, and both of his teammates focus, “We need to get out of here.”

The elevator shaft was an impromptu haven, sliding doors heavy enough to save them from the blast, but it very well might be their death if  they don’t figure a way out of this mess.

—

Kakashi sits at a table, a dim lamp the only source of light in the room.

Across from him is a dead man.

“It’s nothing personal,” says the dead man, smile on his face.

It’s a struggle to put a matching smile on his own, but Kakashi isn’t a grifter in name only. “Of course not,” he says, casual and cool and not at all what he feels.

“What’s a little sabotage between friends?”


	4. 967, Parents of the Walking Around 'verse, (anonymous)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> related to my [Walking Around (the Sakako Uchiha 'verse)](http://archiveofourown.org/series/549712) and [Take A Step That Is New](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6945079/chapters/18322351)

_[When I look at you all I can see](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=967) _  
_[ …](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=967) _  
_[ are the mistakes we’re going to make.](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=967) _  
_[ (The future’s so bright.)](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=967) _

—

“She loves me!” Naruto says, a wild smile bright on his face. After a beat–maybe too long of one–he continues, “And I love her!”

Shikako tries to keep the skepticism off her face, Sasuke doesn’t even bother.

“You love everyone, idiot,” he scoffs, but its softened by a rueful tone. He of all people knows and has benefited from Naruto’s boundless affection. “Doesn’t mean you should marry them.”

Shikako presses her lips into a flat line, catching her retort before it can be said. This isn’t about her and Sasuke and her unfavorable opinion of marriage, this is about Naruto.

His smile dims and his brow furrows, but his eyes are no less wild, “What are you saying?”

“Hinata is a great person,” Shikako goes for a more delicate approach, “And we both like her, of course we do, she’s our friend…”

She pauses, trying to find the right words.

“… we want you to be happy. If being married to Hinata will make both of you happy, then… we’re happy for you.”

Naruto smiles again, small but earnest, and he wraps her up in a hug. Sasuke attempts to meet her eyes over his shoulder, but she looks away.

She already knows what he’s trying to say.

///

It’s dark when Sakura goes home, sun long set and the village night life already in full swing. She creeps into the house and knows it doesn’t really matter–not in the heart of the Yamanaka compound, where everyone including her wife is a sensor–but surely it’s the thought that counts?

Or perhaps Ino is still mad at her, because it’s Sai alone who sits at the table, a plate of dinner wrapped up for her.

So obviously caught, she murmurs, “I’m home.”

“Welcome home,” Sai responds, words and smile placid, and gestures to the plate. Once it’s heated, she sits down next to him and pushes the food around instead of eating.

Silence reigns.

“Are you mad at me too?” she asks.

He shakes his head.

“… did I hurt you?” she asks again, almost timid.

Again, he shakes his head, “It’s not my place to be mad or hurt by your decision.”

He sounds honest, and Sakura does believe him, but she still feels the need to explain herself. “I… it’s not that I don’t–you would be an amazing father, Sai. And I would love it if you were to help parent my child.

“But I. This is my project. My chance to make a mark on Konoha. And I’m not doing this out of some lingering feelings for Sasuke-kun, Ino’s just being vicious, but–”

Sai puts a hand on Sakura’s and she stops rambling, “I would be honored to treat any child of yours as my own, no matter who their father is.”


	5. 1123, Sai/Shikako, (anonymous)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the first and third are based on AU brainstorms which I haven't/probably won't upload on ao3:
> 
> the dark side of the moon is a Shikako-in-ROOT!AU
> 
> The Queen's Silver General is set in my [Hail To The Queen Chapter Three "she who seizes the throne"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6941455/chapters/16489357)
> 
> Strong In The Real Way is a Steven Universe fusion (pun slightly intended)

_[Some friends you see every day,](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1123) _  
_[ and some friends you see when there’s blood in the air.](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1123) _  
_[ You need both.](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1123) _  
_[ (Your daytime friends are no help in the dark.)](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1123) _

—

**_(the dark side of the moon)_ **

This is a story about mistakes.

Shikako makes the mistake of trying to help. It comes to naught–an entire clan massacred regardless of her attempts–and worse, she catches the eye of a predator far more dangerous than the rogue S-rank Uchiha.

Shikaku mistakenly tries to protect his daughter, rearranging team assignments to give her a less hazardous placement. But high risk yields high rewards, and he doesn’t know he is playing against an opponent with even more influence than the Jounin Commander.

But for all his power it’s Danzo that makes the biggest mistake of all:

When he takes Shikako for ROOT, he pairs her with Sai.

///

**_(The Queen’s Silver General)_ **

A war.

This is what her presence has wrought.

She thought she was helping or, at the very least keeping equilibrium, the mathematics of human lives.

Clearly not the case.

She has been preparing for a specific crisis, all of the villages against an elite twelve person organization. She hadn’t trained for a war in mind. The entire continent’s teeth and claws turned upon each other instead.

What can one sunny optimist do against politics and generations-long grudges? How can one bloodline heir stand up to armies?

The saga of Naruto and Sasuke had been a personal thing, intimate, a matter of individuals and differing beliefs.

They aren’t meant for war.

She needs a soldier, not a hero.

///

**_(Strong In The Real Way)_ **

“I’m not a tourmaline,” Hematite says, factual but almost hesitant, as if he were internally considering the offer even while his mouth rejected the idea, “You should ask the captain.”

The native tourmaline–to differentiate from the tourmaline that is captain of their scouting team–gives a wry smile. “I know that, Hematite,” she says, and he’s grateful for that.

The human-amber fusion has taken to naming all of the gems. The captain and Morganite have both adopted theirs quickly enough, but he doesn’t understand what the function of it is. The native tourmaline, at least, as chosen to respect his reluctance.

“I already know what it’s like to be a tourmaline,” she continues, and reaches out her hand, “Don’t you wonder about being something–someone–else?”

It takes him a while to consider it, but the tourmaline–Shikako, if she respects his preference, then he should do the same–is patient.

He takes her hand; they dance, they converse, they fuse, they become–

Titanite stands tall and strong and powerful.

More than that: together, Titanite _understands_.


	6. 62, Shikako, before and after, (anonymous)

_[When we die, we come back different,](https://asofterdreaming.tumblr.com/post/127906469687/youll-be-someone-you-wouldnt-understand) _   
_[like, with greener eyes,](https://asofterdreaming.tumblr.com/post/127906469687/youll-be-someone-you-wouldnt-understand) _   
_[or as some far off star](https://asofterdreaming.tumblr.com/post/127906469687/youll-be-someone-you-wouldnt-understand) _   
_[(you’ll be someone you wouldn’t understand)](https://asofterdreaming.tumblr.com/post/127906469687/youll-be-someone-you-wouldnt-understand) _

—

_**(The Bustle In A House)** _

She stares at the photograph heedlessly, watching the trail of smoke from the incense beside it on the altar. Around her, her clan members murmur. She could eavesdrop if she cared enough, but she doesn’t bother.

She already knows what they’re saying.

The photograph.

Kinokawa died of old age, older even than Sembei-obaasan, almost as wrinkled and bald as the day he was born. He’s smiling in his portrait; it’s accurate, he was a happy man and lived a happy life.

Shikadai stands behind her, enough noise in his step to be audible. Shinobi manners, the polite way to nonverbally request attention.

She turns to look at her nephew. There are lines around his eyes and gray in his hair. He’s a grandfather, has already passed the role of clan head onto his daughter, Shikai. He looks so old.

She… doesn’t.

“Kako,” Shikadai says, simply, but those two syllables are loaded. It’s affection and shared mourning, of course, but that he calls her that at all–without the honorific–a thin veneer of plausible deniability against the truth.

She doesn’t look old enough to be his aunt. She can no longer be Shikako Nara.

It might be time for her to leave Konoha. For good.

///

[(Stories of Ancient Gods)](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6945079/chapters/15838828)

In her convalescence, she keeps herself distracted–if she doesn’t think about how she died, then it must not have happened, surely?–sealing projects and kunoichi meetings and all the secrets she’s taken from Gelel.

She doesn’t mention the whispers in her dreams. She definitely doesn’t mention that they sometimes follow her in her waking hours.

That isn’t the only thing that followed her from the desert.

When the Gelel shrine broke, life energy flowed back into the Dead Wastes, an impromptu oasis sprouting where not even desert fauna could endure. But Konoha is so green already and she’s been keeping herself busy, she hasn’t noticed what’s been sprouting in her footsteps (why would she look behind her, when that’s where unpleasant truths live?)

The last Ancient could make flowers bloom in a land devoid of life.

It’s only a coincidence that Konoha’s lost bloodline could do the same. (But what a dangerous coincidence it will turn out to be).


	7. 51, Fire Fallow Cultivation 'verse, (anonymous)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> loosely related to my [Fire Fallow Cultivation 'verse](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6945079/chapters/23447232)

_[I don’t know if your wings are real,](http://asofterworld.com/index.php?id=51) _  
_[ but I’ve never seen you without them,](http://asofterworld.com/index.php?id=51) _  
_[ and I follow you everywhere.](http://asofterworld.com/index.php?id=51) _  
_[ (you have a nice living room)](http://asofterworld.com/index.php?id=51) _

—

When eight year old Sasuke wakes up after his aniki… after That Man killed… After…

When Sasuke wakes up After, hollowed out and muddled and crushed under the weight of his own grief, he thinks maybe he’s just dreaming. Not about what happened–he knows the truth–but now, currently.

Either that or maybe, instead of sparing him, That Man really did kill him. Maybe he’s dead.

The medic who checks on him has wings, feathery and small and light brown like a sparrow’s. He’s never heard of a bloodline like that. He must be dreaming, then.

He is not.

—

It takes a while for him to figure out what is happening, mostly because there are so many possible explanations for it and, frankly, he has other more obvious matters to worry about. But on the few occasions when everything grows to be too much, or he needs to just take a break, or on those lighter days when he can pretend that this mystery is the greatest problem in his life, he can ponder it freely.

It’s not a bloodline: The medic from that first day was civilian born, and more besides, he sees other people with wings around Konoha, none of whom are related to each other whatsoever and some of whom are in different clans.

It’s not a genjutsu either, he’s already learned how to dispel them with a kai, and the hospital would never let a patient leave while they’re under one.

He wonders for a while if maybe it’s the Sharingan. Other people can’t seem to see it, not even the Hyuuga, and its not as if it’s so far a leap.

But he doesn’t remember anyone from his clan talking about wings Before, and besides… he doesn’t have the Sharingan yet.

—

Not everyone has wings and, while he hasn’t exactly been taking notes, there doesn’t necessarily seem to be any correlation between the person and their wings’ size or colors.

Some people match what he’d think of them:

Kakashi-sensei has small, grey wings. A little darker than his hair but just as messy, feathers ruffled and out of alignment. Frequently they look like they’re broken, except they can’t be because they’re not real.

Naruto’s are a riot of color–though not yellow like his hair–they’re always up and reaching as if, maybe this time he’ll actually be able to fly.

Some people don’t:

Sai’s wings are fluffy, a white so bright they nearly hurt to look at, and constantly moving around.

Sakura’s are sleek, plumage dark but iridescent like the surface of a bubble in the sun. They only flare out when she’s angry, but are otherwise still for the most part.

Yamato-taicho doesn’t have wings–which somehow doesn’t seem like much of a surprise–but neither does Shikako, which is one.

Sasuke doesn’t either, and he’s not sure how he feels about that.

—

Tsunade-sama’s wings are massive, wide enough to touch either end of the Hokage’s office at the same time, and ever so expressive. There’s a few patchy, ragged places, but her wings don’t look any less magnificent for them.

He’s never seen her in battle–not one outside the political arena, that is–but he thinks such a sight would be awe inspiring.

This is what a Hokage is, this is what a Hokage should be.

(The Sandaime visited Sasuke in the hospital, once, After, but before the wings became his norm. Now, looking back, Sasuke remembers that there were no wings behind the robe and hat.)

He may be Hawk, but Tsunade-sama is the one who looks like she could rule the skies.

—

(The first time he sees wings without feathers, skeletal and horrific, sharply painful things, they are jutting out of Orochimaru.

The second time they’re on the back of That Man, a terrible silhouette to an already nightmarish figure.

It doesn’t take much to figure out what that means.)

—

Whenever he uses his Sharingan, Sasuke can no longer see the wings.

He’s not sure how he feels about that, either.


	8. 989, Strong In The Real Way 'verse, (to-someplace-else)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strong In The Real Way is a DoSxSteven Universe fusion (pun kind of intended)

[ _I don’t know how to make things right._ ](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=989)  
[ _So I’ll just keep pretending_ ](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=989)  
[ _that nothing’s wrong._ ](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=989)  
[ _(you know that I’m no good)_ ](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=989)

—

Kakashi wakes up with a paw to the face followed by the slobbery swipe of a dog’s tongue. Three thumps of furry bodies jumping up onto the bed and he’s edged out to the floor.

Better than an alarm clock.

“To the pound, all of you,” he groans into the floor, before Naruto comes running in behind Guruko, laughter loud and bright. Kakashi gets stepped on twice more, and in moments his bed is filled with seven dogs and one kid and no Kakashi.

“All of you,” he repeats, vowing revenge, to an audience of overly pleased faces, “even you Naruto.”

His vengeance is ignored.

“First day of school! First day of school!” Naruto cheers, and all of the dogs start barking and howling along because this is Kakashi’s life and so nobody in this house is well behaved whatsoever.

—

When Kakashi is eight years old, his father commits suicide, leaving him orphaned.

It takes a few months, but he’s lucky enough to be adopted by Minato, who was nice and patient and far too good for the surly, angry mess that was a child Kakashi.

A decade later, Minato dies, leaving Kakashi orphaned once more, this time with a baby to take care of.

He tries his best, really, but just because Kakashi is no longer so surly or angry, doesn’t make him any less of a disaster.

—

Kakashi drives an SUV, top of the line, with all the latest tech and safety features and a healthy coating of dog hair on the upholstery no matter how many lint rollers and vacuum cleanings he attacks it with.

He used to ride a motorcycle with a sidecar for his dogs, but the first (and only) time Gai saw him trying to load a carseat in it, he was highly encouraged into buying a real vehicle.

Normally, Kakashi would ignore Gai’s nagging, especially considering Gai’s definition of cool is vastly different from his own, but given Gai had recently gotten custody of his nephew, one year older than Naruto, he’ll gladly defer to the one with slightly more experience.

(And if that means he can foist Naruto off onto Gai for weekly playdates with Lee, well, nobody’s complaining).

—

The thing is, he did like Kushina, strange as she was; a weird rock lady with mystical abilities and a literal alien mindset. But she was fun and interesting and kind and made Minato so happy. She made life exciting.

Maybe too exciting.

But that’s not fair.

It’s not Kushina’s fault that the Kyuubi attacked.

—

There’s a room in the house that Kakashi can’t open. There is no door handle, no hinges, just a single cabochon the same color as the gem on Naruto’s belly.

He probably should have been more worried when dinner passed–ramen, even!–and Naruto didn’t appear. But none of the dogs were concerned when he asked them, waving their tails and hoping for leftovers.

At the very least, he should have put two and two together.

Three hours later, when Kakashi’s on the brink of forming a search team despite the dogs’ blasé attitudes, the door bursts open: Naruto rolling across the ground, inelegantly fighting a kid with an obsidian in his forehead. They bust a hole in one wall, knock over a shelf of books, break the bathroom sink, and nearly flood the whole first floor. The dogs remain unconcerned, Kakashi is far less amused.

Later he’ll learn that inside the room he can’t open, Naruto found an obsidian inside a bubble and popped it. Because that’s the kind of shining example of decision making prowess he’s been living with.

This is how they meet Sasuke.

—

Meeting Shikako requires a lot less clean up, but raises far more questions than answers.

Kakashi never really considered the implications of Naruto’s existence, beyond not accidentally poisoning or otherwise killing the small life he’d been put in charge of. And he tried his best because Naruto was Minato’s son, and Kakashi couldn’t do less than that.

But Naruto is also Kushina’s son and that has an entire legacy that Kakashi can’t possibly comprehend.


	9. 1113, Shikako & Kankurou, (anonymous)

_[i don’t know what the fuck true love even is](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1113) _  
_[ but i do want to hang out with you](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1113) _  
_[ for basically the rest of my life.](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1113) _  
_[ (let’s hang out - TO THE DEATH)](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1113) _

—

Kankurou’s arrival in Konoha is quiet, understated, and nearly overlooked.

“Which just figures,” he says with a shrug, straddling that line between self-deprecation and wry complaint. He’s nowhere near as loud a personality as either of his siblings and he knows it, but something would be terribly wrong if he let an opportunity to take a dig at Leaf pass him by.

He’s put under Shikako’s watch because supervising a friendly ally is the height of light duty and whenever he speaks, Tsunade frequently gets the urge to take him by the scruff and shake him like an unruly dog.

“That means she likes you,” Shikako assures him, well out of earshot of the Hokage.

Kankurou raises an eyebrow.

“Well, tolerates you,” she corrects, “She doesn’t want to punch you in the face full strength?”

Tsunade’s strength is an international legend. Kankurou shudders and accepts the compliment.

The two of them get looks as they walk down the street, not more than when she was with Sasuke or by herself, but there’s a different flavor to them. Kankurou is an oddity in the village, not an overt novelty anymore, but not outrightly familiar either. People are curious and surprised to see him, and in comparison they don’t much care about the Nara girl beside him.

Her shoulders are relaxed.

—

Sand is their ally, but Sand is recovering from internal strife and recession and their greatest strength is having a near unassailable defense. Kankurou’s presence is more than generous given the circumstances. Shikako, as a highly connected shinobi of Konoha, is very grateful.

Shikako, as a person, is even more so.

Kankurou doesn’t ask about the cane. He doesn’t ask about the light duty or the lack of armor or the way people look at her then refuse to meet her eye.

He doesn’t even ask about the way Sasuke checks in on her a few times a day, even though he’s no longer her bodyguard and must be far too busy to do so.

He does ask about explosions, though.

“Damn, Sparky, it’s been a whole week and not one thing blown up. This must be some kind of record for you,” Kankurou says, flipping a pen round and round his fingers.

She freezes, eyes staring almost desperately at the reports beneath her hands.

They’ve both been authorized to share a rough approximation of their respective villages’ forces and resources (not the exact or entire report, god no, alliance or not, that’s just unheard of) and to come up with inter-village strategies in case of certain situations. Shared border patrols and multi-village platoons, maintaining and protecting the trade routes between Wind and Fire, etc.

Now she’s just stalling.

“Um.”

It’s not his fault that explosions are kind of her specialty. How would he know it’s become a touchy subject for her?

Kankurou waits.

Then again, this is Kankurou she’s talking about: no doubt he’s heard the rumors flying around and put the puzzle pieces together.

“I just. It’s not really the right atmosphere for it, you know? And I can’t really experiment with them safely, not so close to the village.”

Neither of them bring up the barren, rocky flatlands just two hours outside of Konoha.

Kankurou hums, “Well, whenever you want to try for some large scale bangs, you can come over to the desert. There’s nothing but fucking sand out there. Go wild.”

It’s probably the nicest thing she’s ever heard him say.

It’s also the most absurdly optimistic, given there’s an impending war, but maybe if they both survive and the offer’s still open she’ll take him up on that.

—

A world war turned international alliance against an S-rank organization of missing nin later–wounds and scars and even more and touchier subjects later–Shikako goes out to the desert and goes wild.

“First The Garden and now whatever this is,” Kankurou says, honestly admiring of what can only be called a canyon made of glass, “Sparky, you are great for Wind’s tourism industry.”


	10. 1024, Kakashi & Shikako, (anonymous)

[ _CAN’T STOP_ ](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1024)   
[ _WON’T STOP_ ](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1024)   
[ _NOT SURE HOW TO STOP_ ](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1024)   
[ _(WHY STOP)_ ](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1024)

—

“You’re getting out of hand,” the Hokage says, irritated furrow in between her brows.

The both of them stand in front of her desk, backs straight and eyes forward.

Kakashi doesn’t respond.

“This isn’t what either of them would have wanted,” Tsunade tries instead, gaze settling on Shikako, “Surely you realize that.”

She doesn’t know why people assume she’s someone who can be reasoned with. She’s logical, sure, but not nearly as much as she is determined.

And plus, it doesn’t really matter what either Naruto or Sasuke would have wanted them to do.

They’re dead.

Shikako doesn’t respond either.

Tsunade sighs, resigned and heartbroken, before signing off on their requests for admission.

“Like teacher like student.”

Singular student. Which is the entire problem.

—

Naruto and Sasuke die.

Maybe it’s apart–thousands of miles away–completely unrelated incidents; Naruto with his high risk training, Sasuke on his dangerous assignments.

Maybe it’s together, battling side by side, giving their all and sacrificing themselves for the good of the world.

Maybe it’s in the middle of the night, assassination, unexpected attacks in the middle of Konoha where they thought they’d be safe.

It doesn’t really matter, does it?

Only Shikako and Kakashi are left.

—

Wolf was a legend in ANBU. An open secret. The honing of the blade that would become Sharingan no Kakashi, internationally renowned.

It was a time in his life when he needed the mask. Needed the danger. Needed to know that even if everything he touched died then at the very least he could make that talent useful.

That’s not who he is anymore.

The mask he gets this time has sharper marks; the facsimile of a thinner face with smiling teeth and three whiskers on either cheek.

Kakashi has a lot to atone for.

Fox is another open secret.

—

Shikako’s choice in mask is even more of one:

ANBU Hawk is smaller, not as strong but just as fast, and no longer in possession of a Sharingan.

Still, Hawk flies once more.


	11. 938, Poly!Lucky Sevens, (anonymous)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Insuperable is a DCU-esque Superhero!AU

_[…](https://asofterdreaming.tumblr.com/post/127906515767/instead-of-slowing-down-i-just-shine-brighter) _   
_[ I think I’ve got fireflies](https://asofterdreaming.tumblr.com/post/127906515767/instead-of-slowing-down-i-just-shine-brighter) _   
_[ where my caution should be.](https://asofterdreaming.tumblr.com/post/127906515767/instead-of-slowing-down-i-just-shine-brighter) _   
_[ (Instead of slowing down, I just shine brighter)](https://asofterdreaming.tumblr.com/post/127906515767/instead-of-slowing-down-i-just-shine-brighter) _

—

_**(Insuperable)** _

She’s thrown through a wall–one, two, three–comes to a rolling, tumbling stop against the crumpled steel of a dumpster.

She groans, body shrieking in pain–her floating ribs are probably broken, shit, and her vision is hazy with a definite concussion–but at least she’s still alive. Her armor has held up well: TenTen is definitely getting a raise.

A roar sounds through the streets, reverberating and ominous, straight out of her childhood nightmares of monsters under her bed.

What she wouldn’t give to be asleep in her bed right now.

Shikako coughs, brick dust and rubble in the air, ribs protesting angrily. She steels herself. Flipping onto her hands and knees nearly makes her weep.

She can’t do this.

Human criminals are one thing–she’s better trained and better equipped than anyone on the street–but creatures of this size? Rogues with superhuman abilities? Magic and other things beyond the laws of physics?

She can’t do this alone.

—

An extraterrestrial object crashes into Konoha’s Central Park during an R&D presentation to the board–Shikako’s presence is mandatory no matter how many wide-eyed looks of panic she exchanges with TenTen.

And so when the alien emerges, blindfolded and shackled but rampaging madly, it’s not The Dark Knight that makes first contact, but a graffiti artist on the run from the cops.

A graffiti artist that also happens to be a demigod.

By the time the presentation is over–rushed through as quickly as possible, but still far too long–the rampage turned battle has expanded to downtown Konoha.

Shikako arrives on scene and curses, futilely: there are news cameras–stupid and brave–and a ring of police cars–less stupid, but braver–lights spinning a dizzying red and blue.

Most of her power comes from reputation, the growing rumors of an urban legend that haunts the nights and minds of criminals. This is so public, too public, out in the bright glaring sunshine.

The officers that spot her, rumbling motorcycle engine loud and impatient, face their weapons her way for a moment. The Dark Knight, after all, is still a wanted vigilante–one that has caused conflicting opinions within the force. But their captain is quick to brush them off, in part for her benefit, but mostly for theirs.

“I hope you have better firepower than we do,” the captain says, opening up the barrier with a wave, “Because both of them are bulletproof.”

She does, but that’s not what is going to resolve this.

She goes through, prepared to enter the fray even if it means surrounding herself by people who want to throw her in prison, because maybe there’s a way to salvage this situation.


	12. 917, the Nara Twins, (anonymous)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember To Sleep is a cyberpunk!AU
> 
> [Dreaming of Sunshine Switch by Lady Hallen & Fragile Dreams](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11442113/1/Dreaming-of-Sunshine-Switch) is about DoS!Sasuke and Shikako swapping places with canon!Sasuke (and no one because there is no canon!Shikako… OR IS THERE?)

_[We talk in the dark as we fall asleep,](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=917) _   
_[ and we are objects in the night sky](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=917) _   
_[ outside of time.](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=917) _   
_[ (it is the exact opposite of alone.)](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=917) _

—

**_(Remember To Sleep)_ **

“It’s been a while,” Shikamaru says, once the table has been cleared, the two of them washing up afterwards just as they always have ever since they were old enough to be given chores.

Everyone else has relocated to the living room with little plates of dessert and cups of tea, Naruto exclaiming flattery over food he can’t really taste.

“Yes,” Shikako responds simply enough, and tries not to break the glass between her soapy hands.

Not that it would be difficult–she’s not the one with the cybernetic arm.

“You don’t have to keep punishing yourself,” he says, “It wasn’t your fault.”

Shikako bites back the denial, the frustrated honesty that wants to sting, wants to make herself miserable even at the cost of her brother’s happiness.

“Okay,” she says instead, still light and terribly brittle.

Shikamaru sighs. It’s resigned more than frustrated–he’s beyond the temper of his teenaged years. “I’m glad you joined us tonight.”

This, at least, is not a controversial statement.

“I am too.”

///

**_(Dreaming of Sunshine Switch by Lady Hallen and Fragile Dreams)_ **

“We have a little brother,” the woman who both is but also isn’t his sister says, “Kinokawa Nara.”

“After mum’s family,” Shikamaru responds, the connection coming easily: the recent appearance of one family member made researching the rest relevant. How many secrets have been kept from him? How many siblings is he missing?

“Bingo,” Shikako says, smile gentle and warm. He wonders if she’s like that with the other him. Her actual brother. Or if it’s just because of the age difference. “He likes you better,” she says, “though he’s in his terrible twos now, so I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.”

The calculation is easy, but he doesn’t want to get his hopes up without confirmation.

“It’s not time yet,” Shikamaru leads, hesitant but still eager to know, “he hasn’t been born yet.”

Shikako’s expression falters, slightly, perhaps realizing the extent of the desperation in his tone, on his face. “Things are different,” she hedges, “Your parents are different people. Have experienced different things. They may not…”

They may not want to try for a third child, after losing one already.

“… Alternate universe. I certainly don’t remember meeting a time traveling version of my sibling.”

And, of course, Shikamaru is an only child in this one.


	13. 1223, Sasuke and Shikako + Time Loop!AU, (anonymous)

_[I would love you more](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1223) _  
_[ if you were someone who could love me.](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1223) _  
_[ …](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1223) _  
_[ (buy your love by playing make believe)](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1223) _

—

The first go around, Shikako doesn’t trust him. Not completely.

That’s fine–Sasuke doesn’t trust her completely either. (Not yet)

He wants power more than he wants her trust, and so he succumbs to the temptation. Takes the serpent’s offer. Follows the destined, straying path.

He becomes more powerful than he could ever dream.

The first go around, he hasn’t yet learned that Shikako’s trust will make him even more so.

///

The second go around, he’s in shock.

He must be.

That can be the only explanation for why he lets his family die.

It’s less about revenge and more about self-destruction when he follows that same, straying destiny.

///

The third go around is when he starts trying to change things. Hope, like poison, coursing through his veins.

But for all his suffering he doesn’t know enough (not yet) and so it’s all just empty flailing.

///

Fourth through sixth he starts to suspect that he’s not the only one who knows what’s going on.

Shikako reacts differently from everyone else, reacts the way someone whose expectations have gone unfulfilled.

Which means she has expectations.

Beyond the expectations for Sasuke Uchiha, youngest son of Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha. Beyond the expectations for Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha’s younger brother. Beyond the expectations for Sasuke Uchiha, best fighter, most popular boy, and second ranked student of his class.

She knows something.

And as he’s learned over and over again, knowledge is what he desperately needs.

///

The seventh, Shikako disappears.

He only speaks to her once: two children on a playground, not even at the Academy yet, no possible threat to anyone.

The official report is that Cloud ninja took her, but Sasuke isn’t that foolish boy he once was.

(It was Danzo, of course it was; he’s the only one Shikako ever truly feared. And for good reason.)

He never forgives himself for that one.

///

Eighth is about atonement.

(Aren’t they all about atonement?)

He focuses on his friends, on their happiness and their safety.

He is kind and he is loved and he is killed very early on.

(But not after Shikako, this he makes certain)

The world is not a peaceful place. (Not yet)

He has to make it so.

///

After a while, it becomes less about succeeding–whatever that might mean–and more about learning.

He learns, in depth, about the Uchiha clan politics (and later decides not to revive the system)

He learns, no matter how heartbreaking, about his brother’s internal struggles (after so many lives, he knows that Itachi was just a child torn in too many directions).

He learns, to his own surprise, about the ghosts of Kakashi’s past (the traumas as much a part of him as the Sharingan in his eye socket).

He learns, pieced together from crumbs and rubble, far more about Naruto’s heritage than he himself ever does (how much grief would they all be spared if Sasuke could actually travel through time instead of just loop).

But most of all, he learns about Shikako.

///

Power is nothing without wisdom.


	14. 234, Tamed 'verse, (sociallinkmax)

[ _We are terrible for each other, and, yes, we are a disaster._ ](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=234)   
[ _But tell me your heart doesn’t race for a hurricane or a burning building._ ](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=234)   
[ _I’d rather die terrified than live forever._ ](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=234)   
[ _(mistakes aren’t always regrets)_ ](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=234)

—

**_(Tamed)_ **

“My brother had magic,” Sasuke says, muted, staring into the campfire. Naruto and Shikako look at him, attentive and enraptured: Sasuke never talks about his past.

Kakashi looks away–he already knows this story.

“My parents. Our entire kingdom. They were so proud,” The words are stilted, as if dragged out of him, but he pushes through, “The first prince in generations to have magic…”

The silence is so long that for a moment they think he’s stopped, that’s all he will say on the matter.

“…it overwhelmed him, turned him mad. He cursed everyone.” Sasuke closes his eyes, clenches his fists, “That’s why I have to kill him.”

He stands up quickly–the sudden movement causing the other two to flinch back–and stalks off.

“Not too far,” Kakashi calls after him, getting only a dismissive grunt in return, but he does stay within shouting distance and returns to their campsite after an hour.

He is still silent, sullen. For the next two days, the three of them don’t hear another word from Sasuke, but at heart his mood isn’t regret.

It’s relief.

///

He doesn’t know it, but Naruto comes from a long line of legends: foresters who protected children who strayed off the path, knights who slew monsters, seventh sons who cured kings, princesses that outsmarted trickster demons, all the way to heroes whose names grew beyond any single act.

They were there whenever an injustice needed to be righted. They were on the front lines in wars against evil. They were wanderers who faced the worst the world had to offer and gave their all to make it better.

And then they gave some more.

Sometimes, fortune favors the bold.

Other times, fortune is feckless and all consuming, taking and taking and granting only rarely with the highest interest rate.

Kakashi knows, but will never tell him: on the day of Naruto’s birth, despite all the sacrifice that was made, that debt harshly grew.

He is the last of his line: any luck that falls his way will exact balance upon him…

… and on his precious people.

///

Shikako does not have a tragic background. Her lifestyle has always been, if not gentle, then fair and without strife.

She has enjoyed much from her station and she knows, one day, that she will have to take up the duties expected of her and return the privileges that have been afforded her.

But not yet.

“Please,” Shikako whispers, small hand clutching at the rough fabric of his cloak, “Not yet.”

He doesn’t know where the misunderstanding arose–Shikako intent on fleeing an unwanted arranged marriage, her father sending search parties and hiring an, if he’s going to be honest, overpriced hunter to make sure she hasn’t been taken against her will–but it’s both a hilarious and heartening situation that he thinks he’ll keep track of.

That is what he does, after all.

“The world can be a scary and overwhelming place for young highborn ladies,” he says, just to gauge her mettle. If she really can’t hack it, he’ll deliver her to the Nara stronghold himself.

The same hand that clung to his cloak for comfort now tugs sharply, jerking him down closer to her level. He bends with it, because why not?

“I may be a lady,” she responds, quiet but fierce; she brings her free hand between them, and in her palm blooms a small green flame “but I’m far from helpless.”


	15. 1113, Shikako/Sai, (anonymous)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> set in my [Friendship Is A (Mutual) Con 'verse](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6945079/chapters/19668433)

_[i don’t know what the fuck true love even is](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1113) _   
_[ but i do want to hang out with you](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1113) _   
_[ for basically the rest of my life.](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1113) _   
_[ (let’s hang out - TO THE DEATH)](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1113) _

—

**_(Friendship Is A (Mutual) Con)_ **

Shikako stares at Sai, the breath for her response caught in her throat, more confused than concerned, but a healthy amount of both.

Sai stares back, guileless.

“… we can work on that,” Shikako finally says, hesitantly. She is angry and horrified–but not at him, it’s not his fault–and it takes effort to keep it out of her voice.

“I’ve read many books on this subject, so I’m quite confident I’ve mastered the theory,” Sai responds, holding up his tablet which proudly displays the title: Love and Other Mysteries.

“… that’s…” this time there is no hiding her skepticism, “Well… think of it as needing field experience. Cooperation leads to teamwork, teamwork leads to friendship, and friendship is a great step towards love.”

Sai nods as if what she’s saying actually makes sense and isn’t something she’s just making up on the spot.

And it’s not like anyone else on the team–besides Sakura, that is–is emotionally competent enough to dispute that.

///

Shikako realizes she still has her comm on ten minutes after the screaming fight with her brother has already ended.

Mostly because Sai, showing his developing social acuity, quietly clears his throat before asking, “Did he not like your gift?”

She sighs, exasperated and embarrassed with herself and, maybe, a little unapologetically petty at Sai for eavesdropping–let him deal with the audio feedback–but if he had to wade through that awful argument then she does sort of owe him an explanation.

“No, he was grateful for it. It’ll speed up his recovery by months, if not years, and it’ll definitely make his PT easier…”

“That didn’t sound like gratitude.”

Shikako’s chuckle is more bitter than amused, “He’s worried about how I got it, instead of focusing on his own health which is what really matters…”

She sighs again, exhausted. It’s been months of this, she just wants that easiness that they used to have.

“… sometimes love is hard.”

///

This is their final heist as a team–or as this team, at least: Sakura returning to her previous team, Yamato clearing his name and getting reinstated, and Kakashi finally obtaining the peace that had eluded him for so long.

“Will you be staying?” Sai asks her as he packs up his rig–there is a strange lack of urgency and so he takes his time to stow everything away neatly instead of just shoving things in his bag as someone else drags him away.

“Yes,” she answers, swiftly, simply, no consideration needed. She tilts her head over at Naruto and Sasuke, who are both saying their goodbyes and trying (and failing) to be professional about it. “They need me, still.”

There is a pause as Sai continues to pack and Shikako watches, not wanting to interfere.

“And you?” She finally asks, as the last zipper is zipped.

He shoulders his bag, two hard shell cases in either hand as well, and answers–swiftly, simply–

“I haven’t finished my lessons, yet.”


	16. 1160, a softer spring cleaning, (anonymous)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Using a softer world to do some spring cleaning on my prompts list.
> 
> This one was a prompt for surprisingly suave Shikamaru reacting to Shikako's obliviousness of her own reputation.

_[my five year plan](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1160) _   
_[ is to maybe go out for ice cream](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1160) _   
_[ this afternoon?](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1160) _   
_[ (Live every day like the ice cream store is closing.)](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=1160) _

—

He says this with the utmost respect and the deepest of loves:

When it comes to people’s opinions of her, his sister is unbelievably oblivious.

He is sitting guard by her bedside–chakra exhaustion, a gouged hand and forearm, and the usual scrapes and bruises that comes from their line of work–a lamp on behind him casting his shadow long across the room. Anyone who wants to come near her would have to enter his range.

A knock at the door, a curt if polite scuff of feet.

This must be the fifth visit his sister has gotten since he began his watch–he’s only been sitting here for a few hours.

“Come in,” he says, exhausted, the tone of someone who has fought beyond his limits, nearly lost his sister, and may very well still lose both of his teammates.

The Sand shinobi that enters is familiar and a recent field ally, but he also remembers that the first time they met Temari was on the opposite side of an invasion. And it was his sister that had decided the Sand Siblings’ fates when they were vulnerable.

His shadow roils, cautious.

Temari raises her hands in front of her, both of them open at first, before clasping them together–a practiced, almost casual motion meant to convey one is not concealing any weapons.

It doesn’t really mean anything–not with her talent in wind ninjutsu and the giant metal fan strapped to her back–but the intent behind the gesture is appreciated.

She’s still in range of his shadow anyway, and they both remember how their tournament fight ended.

“May I sit?” she asks, tilting her head towards the other visitor’s chair.

Shikamaru shrugs, which is permission enough.

The silence between them is far from comfortable, but at least it’s not charged with hostility.

“Your sister…”

Shikamaru, if he ever did relax, snaps back to attention.

“… she’s interesting,” Temari finishes, simply.

And maybe it’s the stress of the day, or just how much of an understatement that is, but Shikamaru knows it’s both compliment and question and so he just starts to laugh.

After a moment of surprise, Temari smiles at him.


	17. 709, a softer spring cleaning, (anonymous)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Using a softer world to do some spring cleaning on my prompts list.
> 
> This one was a very belatedly filled prompt for multiple iterations of Sasuke/Shikako. None of which were properly filled with this.

_[I love you the way a knife loves a heart](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=709) _   
_[ the way a bomb loves a crowd](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=709) _   
_[ the way your mother warned you about, essentially.](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=709) _   
_[ (the way a human loves another human)](http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=709) _

—

“… you planned this,” Sasuke says, realization dawning on him far too late. For years, his life goal finally achieved–but what does that matter when it was never really his own? At the core of all his steely determination just crumbling ash.

The sword falls from his hand.

“You…” he retreats, half a step then another, aborted movements, stumbling. Graceless and confused. He can feel his eyes burning, searing the image into his mind forever. “You… why would you–I don’t…”

The sword falls from his hand, but it doesn’t go far. The blade trapped between muscles and ribs and vital organs.

“I love you,” he says, denial and desperation, “Why would you–why would I. I don’t understand. I love you. I–”

Shikako gives a wet, bloody cough, as red as his eyes.

Mangekyo Sharingan. Sasuke needs it if he’s ever going to survive.

“I know.”

///

She is the most dangerous thing in his life.

Of course she is.

How can she ever protect him from all the people that want to harm him if she isn’t powerful enough to stop them.

She is only so dangerous because she loves him.

(She worked hard for that role.)

Naruto is the hero, this she cannot, will not touch–she can help him, sharpen the edge, but she cannot change him

Sasuke, on the other hand, was meant to be the antihero. That, she took between her own two hands and ripped to pieces. He was hers to forge anew, molten metal reshaped and folded, impurities burned out, making something even stronger.

But what is a blade that will not cut?

What is a sword without it’s wielder?

What is a curse of ultimate power without the betrayal that makes it so?

(Itachi had the right idea, but failed at the execution)

///

In order for fire to thrive, something first must burn.

—

_i am the most dangerous thing in your life_   
_of course I am_   
_only because I love you so._   
_(i worked hard for that role)_


	18. 969, Hinata/Shikako, (anonymous)

_[…](http://asofterworld.com/index.php?id=969)_  
 _[People helping each other in the aftermath of tragedy,](http://asofterworld.com/index.php?id=969)_  
 _[is the only really convincing argument for people.](http://asofterworld.com/index.php?id=969)_  
 _[(Always in the shadow of a stronger argument against.)](http://asofterworld.com/index.php?id=969)_  
—

There is beauty in kindness, even against cruelty.

Maybe especially against cruelty.

The strength to face adversity with grace, the wisdom to cease the perpetuation of hostility–it is honorable, admirable…

… entirely untenable.

Suffering needlessly isn’t her style. Eye for an eye might make the whole world blind, but against reality-bending dojutsu she’d easily make that trade.

For her, mercy is a luxury–spent sparingly and only on the rare occasions she can afford it–her main currencies are preparation and paranoia.

///

For a long time after The Incident, Cloud nin become the boogeyman for nearly all clan children.

Because they are shinobi, their parents do not use it so blatantly–they don’t use it consciously at all, too much tragedy surrounding it–it’s in the furrow of their brows, the tight, lingering hugs, the fearful hovering and grateful sighs of relief every time their children are back within their line of sights.

It is something not talked about but whispered, child to child: Cloud nin will come get you if you stray too far, if you don’t listen to your parents, if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It devolves, the way things do, rumors and degrees of separation and time muddling things. Cloud nin will kidnap you if you don’t finish your homework, if you don’t eat your vegetables, or don’t go to bed on time. Small, childish things.

Eventually, they all grow out of it…

… nearly all of them, that is.

It was never just a childhood boogeyman for Hinata.

///

Konoha goes to war.

They are peacetime children, yes, but shinobi all the same–in a way, they have been training for this their entire lives.

And yet, there is caution. The clan heirs held behind the safety of Konoha’s walls. They are powerful, yes, but still vulnerable. Once they are sent onto the battlefield, there is no turning back.

For a moment–for a few months at least–she has held that inevitability off. Where she goes, the others can follow, and this is one path she does not want to trail blaze for them.

But all children must face their fears someday.


End file.
